Heel-building machine.



6. W. BOWEN.

HEEL BUILDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. a. 1911.

1 ,288,%91 Q Patenteu Dec. 24, 1918.

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APELICATION FILED MAR. 23. NH].

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HEEL BU!LD|NG MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 8. 1917.

1,288,491 0 Paiented Dec. 24, 1918.

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APPUCATION FILED MAR. 3,191?- 1528851810 Patented Dec. 24,1918.

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C. W. BOWEN.

HEEL BUILDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION men MAR.B,1917.

Patnted Dec.24,1918.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES W. BOWEN, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A COR- PORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

HEEL-BUILDING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 24, 1918.

Original application filed December 9, 1912, Serial No. 735,750. Divided and this application filed March 8, 1917. Serial No. 153,442.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES W. BOWEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Heel-Building Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a machine for forming or building shoe-heels, by the superposition of lifts or layers of sheet-material. More particularly, the invention relates to a heel-building machine in which the lifts or layers are cut by the machine from strips or sheets of material as fast as they are required for, and used in, the formation of the heel-piles.

One object of the invention is to produce a machine, of the kind in question, in which means are employed, in connection with the means for cutting the heel-lifts as aforesaid, for feeding the strips of material through distances regulated in accordance with the sizes of the lifts which are out from the strips.

.To this end the .machine is provided with strip-feeding mechanism which is adjustable to feed the strips through any required distances. More particularly, in order that the object in question may be attained where the heel-pile is composed of lifts of graded sizes, the feed is made adjustable independently as to the several strips, so that the strips may be fed through different distances at each operation.

In the machine of applicants prior Patent No. 1,146,996, granted July 20, 1815, heel-pile is produced by the superposition of a series of graded lifts, and the number and grades of the lifts are determined by the number of magazines employed and the grades of the lifts stacked in the several magazines. This mode of operation re quires the maintenance of a considerable stock of heel-lifts in the machine, and it involves also the production of such lifts as a distinct operation and by a different machine, and the subsequent transfer of the lifts to the heel-building machine. An object of the present invention is to avoid the necessity of preparing or maintaining any stock of heel-lifts and to produce lifts only so fast as they are consumed in the heelbuilding operation.

To the foregoing end it is proposed, in accordance with the, present invention, to employ means which produce, at each cycle of operations, acomplete series of separate heel lifts in sufficient number to form a single heel when subsequently assembled together.

Other objects of the invention, and the features of construction and operation by which they are attained, will be set forth in connection with the following description of the illustrated embodiment of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings Figure l is a side-elevation of a machine embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 is a plan-view of the machine, with the upper portion of the lift-cutting mechanism broken away; Fig. 3 is a rearselevation of the machine; Fig. i is a vertical section of the machine on the line H in Fig. 2, but with the pasting and nailing mechanisms and the lift-receiving hoppers removed; Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of one of the cutting-dies and associated parts, on a larger scale than the other figures; Fig. 6 is a plan-view of certain details of the strip-feeding mechanism; Fig. 7 is a plan-view of a portion of the same mechanism; and Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view on the line 88 in Fig. 7.

The invention is illustrated as embodied in a machine comprising a framework 1, upon which a horizontal feed-table 2 is mounted. This table supports a series of strips 3 of sheet material (Fig. 2), from which the heel-lifts are to be cut. In the illustrated machine the heel-lifts are out from each strip with the length of the lift transverse to the strip; accordingly the strips, which may be formed from sheets of leatherboard or other suitable material, are preferably made of widths substantially equal to the lengths of the'lifts, these widths being, therefore, graduated, as shown in the drawings, where the heels are to be composed of lifts of graduated lengths. Each plate.

stri is uided between a )air of -uide-bars P b l a 4, fixed on the table 2 and forming a channel in which the strip may move. The guide-bars are secured adjustably in place by means of screws 5 passing through slotted lugs 6 on the bars, so that the width of the channel formed by each pair of bars may be varied in accordance with the-width of the strip to be accommodated.

The table is continuous with a beam 8 which is provided with clove-tailed sockets in which cutting-blocks 7 are seated (Figs. 4: and 6), and upon these cutting-blocks heellifts are cut from the strips, by means of a series of hollow dies 9 which are mounted upon a transverse carrier. These have each the form, in horizontal section, of the heellift to be cut, and their lower edges are sharp so that when they are pressed against the strips of material the lift out from each strip is forced into the cavity of the die, while the waste-material is carried, by the next feed-movement of the strips, to the rear of the cutting-blocks, where it falls through a space provided for that purpose, as shown in Fig. 4. The number of dies 9 used in the machine, in forming heel-piles of any given style, is equal to the entire number of lifts required in the heel-pile, and where the heelpile is to be used in making a tapered heel, that is with beveled lateral surfaces, the sizes of the dies are graded accordingly, as shown in Fig.

The die-carrier comprises a beam 10, above, and parallel with which is a plate 12. This plate is supportedby springs 13 resting upon the beam and surrounding guidestems 14 which are fixed in the beam and pass loosely through openings in the plate. Heads at the upper ends of the guide-bars determine the normal raised position of the In order that the dies may be re moved and interchanged according to the sizes of the heel-piles to be cut, each die is inserted loosely in one of a series ofopenings 17 in the plate 12, and is supported therein by a collar 15 which surrounds the die and is secured adjustably in place by a set-screw. The collar is provided with notches 18, which are engaged by lugs 19 on the plate 12, to correctly position the die. The collar 15 may be adjusted on the die, by being slid upward after loosening the set screw, to regulate the height of the lower extremity of the die, as it is worn away in sharpening.

The dies are all depressed against the cutting-blocks by the operation of a cutterbeam 20, arranged to slide, at its ends in uprights 21 upon the frame of the machine. The cutter-beam is actuated by two rods pivoted to its ends, the lower ends of the rods being provided with rollers 23 engaging grooves in the two cams '25, which are mounted upon the opposite ends of a cam I shaft 24 j ournaled horizontally in the frame 1. The cam-shaft is actuated by any suitable connections with a source of power.

The cutter-beam does not directly engage the dies, but is provided with a series of plates 26, which are connected adjustably with the beam by threaded studs 27. The istuds project upwardly from each plate through smooth holes in the beam, and are secured in place therein by nuts 28 and 29 threaded on the stems. By backing off the nuts 28 and 29 from the cutter-beam 20, any plate 26 may be moved vertically and then held in its adjusted position by again tightening the nuts. Each plate 26 operates one of the dies, and the adjustable mounting of the plates permits them to be independently adjusted so that the dies will be engaged simultaneously and depressed through the required distance, regardless of variations in the lengths of the dies. When the dies are depressed by the plates 26 the springs yield so as to permit the plate 12 to descend, and when the cutter-beam rises the springs raise the plate again, together with the dies, the cut lifts remaining within the lower ends of the dies.

The dies are used as means for transferring the cut lifts from the points at which they are cut to a point at which they are discharged in convenient position for the subsequent assembling operation. For this purpose the ends of the beam 10 are fixed to slides which move in horizontal guideways 30 on the frame of the machine, and thus the 100 entire die-carrier with the dies may be moved rearwardly. This movement is produced by means comprising two bell-crank levers 31, connected with the ends of the carrier by links 32. The levers are loosely 105 pivoted on the shaft 37, and they have rearwardly projecting arms 33 carrying rollers 34, which engage grooves 35 in two similar cams 36, mounted on the cam-shaft 2 1.

During the rearward movement of the 110 die-carrier, justdescribed, the strips 3 are fed rearwardly through spaces approximately equal. to the length of material consumed in the production of a set of lifts.

The means employed for this purpose are shown particularly in Figs. 2, 6, 7 and 8. Alongside each of the channels formed by the guide-bars 4 the table is provided with a slot having guideways in which a feedslide 38 moves. Each slide 38 is provided with a horizontal stud extending laterally over the corresponding strip 3, and upon this stud a feed-dog 42 is mounted, a spring 43 being also mounted on the stud and engaging the dog so as to swing it downwardly into operative engagement with the strip 3. The slide 38 has a depending arm 10, and a spring 45,- interposed between the arm and a 1 member 65 on the frame of the machine, presses the arm forwardly so as to retain the slide normally in its foremost position. as shown particularly in Fig. 8.

The feed-slides are given their rearward operative movements by means of the same cam-mechanism which actuates the die-carrier. For this purpose each of the arms 40 is provided with a screw 44, and a cross-bar 46 is mounted upon the lever-arms 31, in position to engage the screws 44 when the arms 31 swing rearwardly as before described. The extent of the operative movement imparted to each feed-slide depends upon the adjustment of the screw 44, which is made to project more or less in front of the arm 40 according as a longer or shorter feed-movement is to be imparted to the corresponding strip. In Fig. 7 the several screws are shown as adjusted in accordance with the graded widths of the lifts which are to be cut from the corresponding strips.

During their return-movements the feeddogs slip idly over the strips, and accidental retrograde movement of the strips is prevented by retaining-dogs 47, which are similar to the feed dogs but are mounted on fixed uprights 48 on the table 2.

After the die-carrier has been moved, as previously described, to transfer the cut lifts to the assembling-mechanism, the lifts are discharged from the dies by means shown particularly in Figs. 4 and 5. Inclosed within each die is an ejector in the form of a plate 50, which is fixed to a stem 51 ar ranged to slide vertically in guideplates 52 and 53 mounted adjustably within the die. A spring 54 bears against the lower guideplate 52 and against a collar 55 secured on the stem 51, and this spring acts to retain the ejector normally in raised position, thus leaving a space 56, within the die and below the ejector, to admit the out lift.

The ejectors are actuated by a series of arms 57 fixed to a rock-shaft 58 which turns in uprights 59 at the sides of the frame 1 of the machine. The arms 57 are so spaced that each arm enters an opening 60 in the side of the corresponding die, upon the rearward movement of the latter, and when this occurs the beveled end of the arm 57 projects over the beveled upper end of the stem 51. The shaft 58 is provided, near its ends, with depending arms 61, and the beam 10 is provided with lugs 62 which engage the arm 61 when the carrier nearly reaches the end of its rearward movement, thus rocking the shaft 58 and causing the arms 57 to press the stems 51 downwardly, thereby causing the ejectors to discharge the lifts. The parts are returned to their normal position by springs 68. which bear against the arms 61 and against lugs 64 on the frame of the machine, while the forward movement of the arms 61 is limited by suitable stops 6.6, as shown in Fig. 2.

After the lifts have been discharged, in a row, from the dies, they may be assembled in any convenient manner, and while auto matic mechanism for this purpose is illustrated, in part, in the drawings of the present application, this mechanism is not described or claimed herein, as it constitutes no part of the present invention.

The term heel-building machine is frequently applied to machines of which the principal or only function is to assemble lifts in heelpiles. As applied to the present machine, however, no such restriction of the term is intended, since the present invention relates merely to the operation of producing a series or set of lifts suitable for the production of a heel-pile, regardless of the manner in which, or the means by which, these lifts may subsequently be assembled.

It should be noted that the term lift, as used throughout this specification and the following claims, is employed in an inclusive sense, to indicate any blank capable of being utilized in building heels irrespective of the particular form or character which the blank may have when first assembled with others in the form of a heel-pile.

This application is a division of an application filed December 9, 1912, Serial No. 7 35,7 50.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment thereof hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but it may be embodied in various other forms within the scope of the following claims:

What is claimed as new, is:

1. A heel-building machine having, in combination, guide channels for holding a series of strips of heel-material; cuttingmeans operable, at each cycle of operations, to cut a heel-lift from each of said strips so as to produce a set of lifts graded as to area suitable for the production of a single, tapered heel; and feed-mechanism operable, after the operation of the cutting-means, to advance all of the strips independently and through varying distances graded according to the sizes of the lifts cut from the respective strips.

2. A heel-building machine having, in combination, guide channels for holding a series of strips of heel-material; cuttingmeans operable, at each cycle of operations, to cut a heel-lift from each of said strips so as to produce a set of lifts graded as to area suitable for the production of a single, tapered heel; and independent feed-mechanisms, for the several strips, operable to advance the strips after the operation of the cutting-means, said mechanism being severally adjustable as to the space through which they advance the respective strips.

3. A heel-building machine having, in combination, means for holding and supporting side by side a series of pieces of heel-material in strip-form; means for cutting a series of lifts from said pieces; means for simultaneously feeding the pieces through spaces graduated in accordance with the graded sizes of the lifts in a single, taperedheel and a common actuator for said feeding means.

l. In a heel-building machine, means, for feeding strip-material through a variable distance, comprising a feed-clog arranged to engage the material; actuating-means movable positively through a predetermined range of movement; means, for transmitting such movement to the feed-dog, adjustable to vary the extent of the movement so transmitted; and yielding means for imparting, to the feed-dog, an idle returnmovement always to the same point regardless of the length of the positive advancing movement.

5. A heel-building machine having, in combination, means for holding a series of strips of heel-material graded in Width in accordance With one dimension of the respective lifts of a single heel; cutting-means operable, at each cycle of operations, to cut a heel-lift from each of said strips, so as to produce a set of lifts suitable for the production of a tapered heel-pile; and feedmechanism operable, after the operation of the cuttinganeans, to advance all of the strips independently through distances graded according to another dimension of the respective lifts.

6. A heel-building machine having, in combination, a feed table for supporting a series of strips of heel-material; means for cutting a series of lifts from said strips; and reciprocatory feed dogs for feeding the strips across the table through spaces graduated in accordance With the graded sizes of the lifts in a single heel.

7. .A heel-building 1nachine,-for producing a series of heel-lifts graded as to form a series of stripsof heel-material graded as to Width, comprising cutting-means, means operating on each strip for advancing the material, after each cutting operation, through a space proportionate to the size of the next lift to be'cut, and a common actuator for said means.

8. A heel-building machine comprising means for holding and feedinga series of strips of heel-material; and cutting mechanism constructed and arranged to cut from said strips, simultaneously, a set of separated, individual lifts graded as to area in sufficient number to form a heel-pile.

9. A heel-building machine comprising means for supporting a series of heel-lifts; a series of dies adapted to cut, at one operation, a series of lifts suitable for the forma tion of a heel-pile; mechanism for causing said dies to cut and receive lifts from sheetmaterial and for moving the dies to a position above said supporting-means and discharging the lifts thereon from the dies, and means for feeding sheet-material to thedies.

10. A heel-building machine comprising means for feeding a series of strips of sheetmaterial; a series of cutters for cutting heellifts from the respective strips; a single actuating-device forall of the cutters; and independent means for adjusting the relation of the actuating-device to each individual cutter to compensate for differences in the Wear of the several cutters.

CHARLES W. BOWEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

\\ Washington, D. O.

Corrections in Letters Patent No. 1,288,491.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,288,491, granted December 24;,

1918, upon the application of Charles W. Bowen, of Lynn, hilassaehusetts, for an improvement in Heel-Building Machines, errors appear in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 1, line 10, forvthe date July 20, 1815 read July 20, 1915; page 4, line 13, claim 7, for the word form read area from; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that the same may conformito the record of the ease in the Patent Ofiice.

Signed and sealed this 28th day of January,

' R. F. WHITEHEAD,

[SEAL] Acting Commissioner of Patents.

Cl. 164-2L 

